Life on Earth took a long evolutionary journey that eventually created us, the purportedly intelligent species that dominates the planet. But there was no grand plan or design, only happenstance, nature and luck. Life on ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 24, 2026
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338
On Earth, garnet is best known as the fiery red January birthstone—popular in jewelry since the Bronze Age and valued highly by ancient Egyptians.
Astrobiology
Jun 24, 2026
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34
NASA's Perseverance rover appears as a green speck on the Martian surface on June 13, 2026, a day before the robotic explorer marked a distance milestone, having traveled a full marathon (26.2 miles, or 42.195 kilometers) ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 24, 2026
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32
You're the grillmaster at the annual family Fourth of July barbecue, and you're sweating bullets standing over the grill in the sweltering summer heat. You're trying to stay cool by pressing a cold beer can to your forehead, ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 24, 2026
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10
Vegetarians need not worry yet—plants will be on Earth for a long time to come. But not forever. The sun will ultimately determine the long-term existence of life on Earth. Its total energy output, called luminosity, has ...
For decades, astronomers and policymakers have been working on plans to protect our planet from killer asteroids. But now there's a new realm to protect: the thousands of satellites we're putting in orbit.
Planetary Sciences
Jun 23, 2026
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12
Researchers are constantly sifting through new spectral data gathered by powerful telescopes, like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Most of the time, when they identify spectral features—specific absorption or emission ...
An interstellar comet that blazed past the sun last year could be nearly three times older than our solar system and is unlike anything ever seen before in our cosmic backyard, astronomers said Monday.
Planetary Sciences
Jun 22, 2026
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37
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists are using a solar wind forecasting method combined with analytic and numerical heliosphere models to find out where the first plasma boundary of the outer heliosphere lies as ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 22, 2026
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15
Mars' innermost moon, Phobos, has long puzzled planetary scientists, who have continually debated whether it's a captured asteroid or formed from debris after a giant impactor struck the Martian surface. The key to solving ...
Planetary Sciences
Jun 22, 2026
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